Apparatus for filling molds.



L L. CONKLING. APPARATUS FOR FILLING MOLDS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 22, 1910.

1,085,973. Patented Feb. 3, 1914.

2 BHEBTS-SHEET 1.

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Quiet nu I. L. OONKLING.

APPARATUS FOR FILLING MOLDS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 22, 1910.

Patented Feb. 3, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

attmeg IRA L. CONKLING, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

APPARATUS FOR FILLINGv MOLDS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 3, 1914.

Application filed September 22, 1910. Serial No. 583,258.

T all c071 0222- it may concern:

Be it known that I, IRA L. CON'KLING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia. in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Apparatus for Filling Molds, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an apparatus for filling molds with clay or similar st-ifi' plastic material to be molded, and has for its ob ject to provide means whereby molds may be loaded with the stifl plastic material properly compacted, more expeditiously, efficiently and uniformly than has heretofore been possible.

lVit-h these and other objects in view my invention consists broadly in the use of a fluid pressure to force the clay, or similar stitf plastic material to be' molded, in a finely divided stream from a nozzle into the mold, the nozzle and mold being preferably relatively movable in order to direct the stream of finely divided plastic material into the various parts of the mold.

My invention further consists inproviding a suitable container for the stiff plastic material, from which the plastic material is forced through a suitable conduit and in supplying a fluid pressure adjacent the nozzle of the conduit, so that the plastic material to be molded is forced from the/nozzle in a. finely divided condition at a great velocity.

My invention further consists in certain constructions, combinations and arrangements of will be first described in connection with the accompanying drawings and then the invention particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings wherein the same part is designated by the same reference numeral wherever it occurs, an elevation of the preferred form of my invention: Fig. 2 is asection taken on line 2, 2 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrow; Fig. 3 is a detail view of the container for the materialto be molded, and a portion of the conduit leading therefrom, said parts being broken away on one side to more clearly show the construction; Fig. 4 is an enlarged central section of the conduit and nozzle and Fig. 5 is a detail perspective pipe 23.

parts, the preferred form of which Figure 1 is.

view of the nozzle with the parts thereof shown in separated relation.

designates a ring from which depends a funnel shaped conduit portion 11, the ring being suspended from the lower end 12, of a hydraulic cylinder 13, by means of the bolt rods 14. designates a second hydraulic cylinder mounted on the upper end of the cylinder 13, the piston rod 16 of which is connected to any suitable supporting device which, for the purpose of illustration, is shown as being provided with an eye 17 engaged by a supporting hook 18 that may depend from a traveling support, or may be suspended in any other manner desired.

19 designates a pipe which connects with the upper end of the cylinder 15. The pipe 19 is shown as extending down to a T-head 19' and connected to one side of the T is a valve 20 communicating with the hydraulic pressure pipe 21. 22 is a valve connected to the other side of the T head and communieating with the hydraulic outlet or exhaust pipe 23.

24 is a pipe leading from the bottom of the cylinder 15 to the exhaust or outlet From the foregoing construction it will beseen that when pressure is admitted to the -upper end of the cylinder, by opening the valve 20, the piston is driven down in the cylinder, and the machine consequently raised. When the valve 20 is closed and the valve 22 opened the pipe 19 is connected to the exhaust, chine will operate to force the fluid out of the cylinder and into the exhaust thus permitting the machine to lower. The pipe24 is merely to prevent pressure in the lower end of the cylinder.

Connected to the ends of the cylinder 13 are the pipes 25 and 26, the flow of fluid to and from each end of the cylinder being controlled by means of the four-way valve 27 in the ordinary manne ton rod 28 carrying the piston 29 on its lower end may be raised and lowered for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

The particular hydraulic mechanism described forms no part of my invention and is merely illustrated in order to show a complete construction. It is advantageous to be able to raise and lower the whole machine as desired, and for this purpose the r, whereby the pishydraulic cylinder 15 is provided. Means 'must also be provided for which it can be readily removed from and placed in position on the ring 10. The ring 10 is shown as provided with a pair of pins 32 which project up from one side of the ring, and on the other side I provide a sliding-pin or bolt 32' whereby'the lower end of the cylinder is held in proper position. The clay to be molded is packed into the cylinder before it is placed 1n position, and the cylinder can thenbe picked up and laced in position without the material alling therefrom.

In the form of my invention shown I have provided a ring 33 supported on the rods 14 above the container by means of the perforated lugs 34 and set screws 35 passing through the lugs and into which the piston 29 enters at the upper end of its movement. The ring 33 is shown as provided with a pair of downwardly extending luvs 33 on one side of the ring and a slid- 2: ing bolt 33" on the other side, whereby the upper end of the cylinder is held in proper position. As I form the ring 33 of the same diameter as the cylinder 30, the ring will operate to prevent the cylinder rising when the piston 29 is raised. In the form of my invention shown the piston 29 is formed of two plates 29, between which is secured a packing ring 36 of rubber or other desired material.

Preferably and as shown I mount in the upper end of the conical conduit 11 a ring 37 carrying a wire screen 38 through which the material is forced and which prevents the entrance of stone or other foreign matter into the conduit.

As will be readily understood when the lever 27 of the four-way valve 27 is operated in the proper direction pressure will be admitted above the piston in the cylinder 13, the piston 29 will move down through the container 30 and force the clay through the conduit 11. After all the material is out of the container the lever 27 is moved in the reverse direction whereby the piston 29 is withdrawn from the container when the container can be removed from position and either refilled, or a previously filled container substituted.

In order that the nozzle may be moved to any position desired I connect to the lower end of the conical shaped conduit portion 11 a series of short curved sections of pipe 39, which are coupled together to rotate one upon the other by any suitable means.

Preferably I employ the novel means shown which I will now describe.

40 indicates a short section of pipe screw threaded into the lower end of the conical conduit 11, the pipe being formed with a flange 41 havin a collar 42 extending therefrom. The en of the section 39 to be connected to the section 40 is provided with an outwardly extending flange 43, the face of which is adapted to seat a ainst the packing 44, located between the anges 41 and 43.

45 is a ring surrounding the section 39 and adapted to be screwed into the collar 42. Preferably, and as shown, I provide shallow grooves in the adjacent faces of the ring 45 and the flange 43 forming a raceway forithe balls 46, whereby the parts may turn easi 47 is an L-shaped late provided with a projection 48 adaptef to engage one of the openings 49 in the outer face of the ring 45, the plate being secured to the flange 42 by means of the screw 50. The holes 49, in addition to formin the means for locking the ring also provi e a means adapted to be engaged by a spanner when it is desired to take the sections apart. The other joints between the sections are constructed in identically the same manner and need no further description. The end section 39 of the conduit is preferably screw threaded and is provided with a tip 51, preferably provided with a conical inner wall 52 to reduce the diameter of the opening in the conduit.

The particular form of nozzle I have illustrated, comprises a tubular section 53 screw threaded into the end of the tip 51 onto which is threaded the annular casing 54 having an enlarged annular space 55 connected by means of pipes 56, 57 with a suitable source of fluid under pressure, such for instance as compressed air, and 64 is a cock for controlling the flow.

58 is a. conical cap screw threaded onto the end of the casing 54, said cap surrounding the end of the pipe 53.

59 is a tip threaded onto the end of the cap 58, said tip at its lower end being provided with an opening 60 through which the clay' is discharged.

61 is a rubber washer having a perforation 62 therethrough of smaller diameter than the opening 60 but in line therewith, and 63' is a metallic washer interposed between the rubber washer and the end of the conical cap 58 to hold the washer 61 in position. The purpose of the rubber washer 61 is to accommodate portions of clay of different sizes, as it is obvious that by reason of the flexibility and expansibility of 1 the material is mcreased so that the size of the opening accommodates itself to the amount of clay passing therethrough. The minute discharge opening, in conjunction with the compressed air which commingles with the clay to be molded, at the delivery end of the pipe 53 breaks upthe clay into minute particles and delivers the same from the nozzle with great velocity.

Int-he operation of the machine a cylinder 3O filled with clay, or other stifi' plastic material to be molded is placed in position on the ring 32. The machine is adjusted to bring the nozzle in proper relation to the mold, or other receiver for the material, by means of the hydraulic .cylinder 15, a mold being indicated at 65. Hydraulic pressure 1s now admitted into the upper end of the cylinder '13 to force the piston 36 into the cylinder 30, thus forcing the clay through the conical conduit 11 and the flexible sections 39 into the nozzle. Compressed air or other fluid under pressure is admitted through the pipe 57 into the annular space 55, which discharges the clay through the discharge endof the nozzle in minute particles having great velocity, the nozzle in the form of a spray. By moving the nozzle around, which movement is permitted by the jointed sections of the conduit, and the movement of the entire ma-' chine, which can swing freely because it is suspended by the eye 17, the clay may be directed in anydesired direction to the surfaces of the mold. It is found that when so introduced into a mold it adheres much more closely to the surface of the mold and presents a much sharper outline when removed from the mold than where the mold is packed by hand. In addition the mold can much more rapidly filled and an absolutely homogeneous mass obtained.

I realize that considerable variation is possible, in the details of construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I there- I fore do not intend to limit myself to the specific form shown and described.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to se ure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an apparatus for filling molds with clay or similar plastic material to be molded,

the clay leaving clay or similar stifi plastic material to be molded, the combination with a conduit formed with a seat at its upper end, an open ended receptacle for the clay removably supported on the seat, latches for locking the receptacle on the seat, a nozzle, a flexible pipe connecting the nozzle to the conduit, a piston and means for operating the iston to cause it to force the clay from t e receptacle to the nozzle.

'3. In an apparatus for fillingmolds with clay or similar stiff plastic material to be molded, the combination with a receptacle for clay, a conduit leading from the receptacle, a series of pipe sections, a plurality of joints between the sections, one end of said series being connected to the conduit, a nozzle connectedto the other end of the series, the joints between the sections permitting the nozzle to be turned in any direction, and means for forcing clay from the receptacle through the conduit and nozzle.

4. In an apparatus for filling molds with clay or similar stifl plastic material to be molded, the combination with a receptacle for the clay, a conduit leading from the receptacle, a series of curved pipe sections, a plurality of joints between the sections permitting each section to turn axially on the adjacent section, said series being ,connected at one end to said conduit, a nozzle connected to the other end of said series, and means for forcing the clay to be molded from the receptacle through the conduit and nozzle.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

i IRA L. OONKLING.

Witnesses:

MARY V. OBRIEN, Jos. J. Frannnnroxson. 

